Attention All Ladies....

Warning: this is an

I am on my soapbox (again!) post...

please, please, please

heed that little inner voice

that tells you when something doesn't sound quite right

doesn't feel quite right, doesn't sit too well...

get that second---maybe even third opinion

or however many it takes

until you are completely convinced

that what you've been told

is as humanly possibly correct

as it can be...

and this goes for ANYONE

with any medical issue...

Last year

I had an abnormal pap smear.

My MD who did it told me

no, I didn't need an endometrium biopsy

(which I had had before-which is painful)

fast forward to the OB-GYN she referred me to

who said I needed that biopsy

and a colposcopy, too...

Praise God, both biopsies were fine---

however...

there was "evidence of fragments of a polyp".

the GYN could not explain to me

what a polyp was, why it was there,

if there were more or if I needed to be concerned about it.

The third practitioner I was seeing at that point

wasn't overly concerned--so I let it go.

The GYN had released me to go back to annual pap smears

so that's what my plan was.

Fast forward almost a year---

having multiple health issues,

I got lucky and got to see

a physician's assistant that I TRUST EMPHATICALLY

who shook her head and said

"WHAT?"

when I relayed the story(ies) above.

She said...

"I would have had you repeat paps at 3, 6, and then 1 year..."

which in turn led me to knocking hard

on the door of the GYN she recommended.

Yesterday I was told that,

based on last year's test results,

that GYN would have repeated the pap smear,

done the two biopies

WITH MEDICATION

(I was not medicated--

have had 2 by two different gyn's in my lifetime-no meds either time!)

and then, because of the pieces of a polyp,

would have ordered 2 additional tests,

and had me repeat the pap in 6 mo.

Breathing.

So today

I find myself trying not to worry

while I wait two weeks for test results

to determine

what may--or may not-- have happened

in a years time...

I was not comfortable with the first GYN.

I should have walked out.

I was not 100% sure of the second practitioner I was seeing

and I should have seen a third.

Kicking myself.

BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE.

Do research. Read. Ask. Ask some more.

If you don't get answers---find someone who can give them to you.

My late husband said of doctors, "I hired you-I can fire you!"

Now, I know--Doctors are not God!

They are not all knowing.

But if what they are saying is not making sense-

if you are not comfortable and getting relief

FIND A NEW ONE.

End of that soapbox.

I was feeling pretty low after all this

and still had errands to run in town.

I stopped at the health food store I frequent

(I have food allergies-wheat among others...)

and I heard a family behind me talking.

I gathered they were probably "newbies" to food allergies

and I heeded that little voice that told me to butt in.

I asked and yes, a young college student had just been diagnosed

last week with gluten allergies.

We talked a long time.

I think I was able to offer her some hope and encouragement

as I showed her my full cart and told her about

what we tried-what worked, didn't and so on.

I felt somewhat redeemed at that point.

That God used my struggle with my allergies

and what I learned from that

to help someone else...

hence my "soapbox" preface to this post...

maybe hearing me share will help save someone else...

whose wondering and questioning...

I'll post some projects

either later today or this week-end.

Until next time,

thanks for letting me vent

and happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

 

No BLUES here...!

Nope-not here...

although today I took my Valentine

to the

House of Blues Gospel Brunch.

It was raining as we drove

raining as we got there

(hence I completely forgot to take any outside pictures-duh!)

but it was warm insidewith GREAT music by

Glory

and the food!!!

Delicious!

We stayed through  two 1/2 sets of music

(they were just finishing one set when we arrived...)

I lost count of cups of coffee I drank

as well as trips to the buffet in the kitchen!

It was a lot of fun.

My pics are not the greatest---

in fact, the best one's hubby took..

(I've got to order the new camera---and then take a class

on how to use it!! and stop being shy about taking photos

in public...)

Hubby's second (?!) helping...

(that's a shrimp he's holding!)

Audience participation---

if you were caught not clapping-you had to sing!

There was some rockin' going on with

This Little Light of Mine...!

see-this is what I mean with my camera---

the room was dark-and the stage lit-

I futzed with this in Picasa to get it this light-but the picture itself is not clear

three little kids were singing and they were good!

The singer in the trio Glory--one keyboardist,

one on woodwinds (I saw a flute and clarinet-still think I heard a sax earlier as well)

they were GOOD!

It takes a lot for me to miss our praise band at church-

but they were worth it!

TO DIE FOR chocolate pie!

Gotta Google and see if I can find the recipe--

it's light like  Cool Whip but a little heavier-

but not as heavy as cheesecake or a pudding!

It was delicious and yes, I ATE THE WHOLE THING!

More pie in the kitchen---from whence mine came!

If I could have snuck one out of there...mmmm...

maybe by tomorrow lunch I'd be hungry enough again to eat!

SHRIMP!

Peel your own is not my favorite-

but these were easy to peel

(hubby said they slit them to make them so---)

and they were cooked in just enough spice

that I didn't even use the cocktail sauce... I had seconds on these, too!

Ok-thirds...burp!

 That's catfish next to the macaroni and cheese! YUM!

We had a great time--

how can you go wrong with good company,

good food and good GOSPEL music?!

Then we came home

snuggled under warm blankets

and took an almost 2-hour nap

(and woke up surrounded by cats)!

Can't think of a better way to have spent the day!

Now...maybe I will go try and burn off that pie

by doing a little stamping!

Then again....another nap might be good, too!

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Can't think

A little late Valentine...

Since I knew I wouldn't be seeing my goddaughter

until after Valentine's Day

I put off making her card

until this afternoon.

Some background...

the child made fun of my eggs

I gave her for breakfast

until she tasted them!

And she LOVES bacon!

So when I saw a pair of

bacon and egg earrings---

well!

I KNEW what she was getting!

But a $65 price tag?

Not happening!
Try $ 5-6--gotta love EBAY!

So here's her gift and card-all in one!

Valentine-you make my heart sizzle!

too cute I think!

Inky

decided to check out the CLEAN laundry...

notice of course--those are all WHITE CLOTHES

the black cat is sitting on!

Sigh.

Off to relax!

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

FRIEND-SHIP on The Open Sea...

After a full day of prepping kits for class

on Tuesday night

I still hadn't made the

Thinking of You card

my husband requested a day or so ago...

and, sadly, time may be of the esssence

in this case so I decided

I needed to CASE a card quickly

and get it done.

I knew I had the Stampin Up nautical papers

and The Open Sea coordinating stamp set

and since this was for a man---

it was a perfect fit.

I started by Googling

"Stampin Up-The Open Sea"

and the first thing that came up was

Splitcoaststampers

and they have an entire GALLEY-er, gallery

dedicated to this stamp set!

WOW!

I hit a treasure chest full!

Ho, Ho, and a bottle of rum---

I cased a card and was off to have some fun!

Thanks to

Barbara (posting under Bejoyce) on Splitcoaststampers

whose website is

http://www.inkyfun.com/!

Will have to check it out later!

Anyway-this is the finished product:

The stamps are SU--as is the patterned dp

and the baker's twine.

The solid cardstock is from my stash-

so no clue who or where on that...

Barbara even has the instructions for that fancy knot...

I laughed-me-tying a fancy knot!

I tie what my late husband called "Sharon Knots"

nothing known to man---

but they don't come undone, that's for sure!

Before I attempted it, however,

I had to get the "kinks" out of the Baker's Twine.

You know how ribbons, fibers and such get those

little "kinks" from being wrapped around the cards they come on.

Well! Do I have a trick for you!

Archivers sells a fancy little iron-to the tune of $ 25 or more

(if memory serves...)

Moi has a better and cheaper idea!

Part of my new hairstyle a while back was

flattening some of my curls and creating some chic bangs...

enter the FLAT IRON -- $ 9 at WM...

and hey, if it works on hair...

surely it will work on Baker's Twine, ribbon...

and yep-sure 'nough, matey, it does!

I just heated that baby up, ran the twin through there quickly

once (ok-twice for good measure)

and presto! No kinks!

I wanted to give it some "oomph"

so not one but two layers of pop-dots

(my hubby wasn't happy when I said extra postage

but hey...it looks awesome in person

and makes the difference between

well-done hand-made and off the rack at WM

or even Hallmark!

Here's the inside--

Close to My Heart sentiment and alphabets,

ink, too, for that matter.

SU and CTMH-great shipmates!

No naked mail so the enve got stamped as well.

Well, that's it for me today!

I've got to clean off the work table

maybe do some flylady attic time

and tend to some other housework.

I may be MIA tomorrow as well

as I am hoping to take my hubby

for the House of Blues Gospel Brunch

and maybe spend some time just sight-seeing

before we head home.

Speaking of "brunch"-

that BAD CAT...

he decided to help himself to a snack last night...

We accidently got the wrong kind of food-

so we grabbed a bucket and put the new/right food in it

but the top was not secured.

I was googling the card and heard crunching...

and this is what I found...

He was merrily chomping away

but tried to look innocent like

"hey, how'd that come off like that?!"

And we wonder why his tummy sags!

Next week I will show you

what our groupies worked on

and sometime soon after that

I will  have a TUTORIAL coming up

for THE PRAIRIE FAIRY

so stay tuned!

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

OH HAPPY DAY! Congratulations Again to

MOI!

I am known as the

OAK ISLAND STAMPQUEEN

and, unbeknownst to many,

I am also

FLOWER FAIRY ROSE OF SHARON

(who made her dew-but (get it-flower fairy...dew....?!)

at my goddaughters 8th birthday party

and that persona blooms out every once in awhile

I hope she will aways hold on to that little bit of

"is this for real?!" she has about it!)

and, as of yesterday,

thanks to

Roberta, The Prairie Fairy

I have a new title and position as a

TUTORIAL FAIRY!!!

Roberta put out a call for a new design team member

I linked up this project-my wobble headed-get well wishes card

using one of images

and yesterday she announced that I had been picked!

As my title indicates,

I will be bibbidie-bobbidie-booing up

some tutorials

and posting them on Roberta's blog

as well as my own.

In fact, I have an idea kicking around in my head

for the very first one...

and I *think* it will involve

her Sugar and Spice Swinging Summer image shown here...

combined with another project I recently made

to show a variation of a card we'll be making

in our groupie class next week...

I am going to call it---

OH HAPPY DAY!

That's what Roberta made yesterday for me!

And yesterday was a wee bit stressful.

My husband is a town employee--

and the Town Council was meeting for major budget cuts...

we've been praying for sometime over this situation...

As it turned out, when all was said and done,

3 people from his department and 3 from another department

had their positions terminated.

While we "dodged the bullet" so to speak

others weren't so blessed and our hearts hurt for them.

We're believers-

and we know that God has our best interests at heart

(if you haven't watched the movie COURAGEOUS-do so)

but even so sometimes it's hard to put that faith into action

and not worry, fret, stress...

My prayers are with those waking up unemployed this morning--

that they will be able to hold fast to the saying that

"when God closes a door, he opens a window..."

and that their next steps will be led by Him.

I've seen that-many times.

When, in answer to my prayer some years back

when I was faced with difficult circumstances in what I had once

thought of as "my dream job"...I ask Him

"to either change things (in my job) in a big way---

or open and close doors in a VERY OBVIOUS WAY..."

it resulted in my resignation.

I had helped build a practice from the ground up

and got stabbed in the back once success, followed by greed, took over...

At the time, I was crushed.

Fast forward 6 months

(I was blessed my husband was able and willing

to let me take some time off to regroup...)

and the very day

 got up and decided that I was ready to look for a new job

I made exactly one phone call---for a totally different reason

and found my job now!

I am a part time church secretary-

less than 10 minutes from home.

I make the bulletin and newsletter look pretty

(can we say digital scrapbooking, people?!)

I design fliers, posters, brochures-

and do whatever else they need me to.

I often find myself needing my scrapbooking tools-at work!

Did I mention ny hours are flexible-

I get PAID VACATION

and am blessed with a second church family to boot?

I walk out the door---and can forget about work

(unlike my previous full-time and then some position!)

Hubby reminded me that this past Monday

marked the 5 year anniversary

of the interview that led to that job...

Praise be-God is GOOD!

I am glad it's the week-end.

Got to finish my class kits, do some flyladying

and of course my

OH HAPPY DAY TUTORIAL!

Stay tuned....!

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Can you keep my secret?

If you can---

I am sharing my Valentine for my sweetheart

a day early!

So excited to get this card done this afternoon

I can't wait to share it.

Here's hoping hubby won't look at my blog

between now and tomorrow morning!

This is the Word Card that

Splitcoaststampers featured a week or so ago.

Isn't it adorable?!

The dp is from a small 6x6 or 8x8 pad

I picked up on sale at ACMoore.

I stamped the cream colored card stock with

a retired background stamp from a CTMH set

in---CHOCOLATE ink!

Yes, that's a pic of us on the heart-

and yes, I am wearing a Santa hat (with a tiara!)

but it was the most recent pic I had of us

and while you can't see it well here---

I was sitting in his lap,

he had a silly smile on his face,

our arms around one another

and we were getting ready to kiss--

so--it fit the Valentine theme!

Of course I popped that heart up but

at the same time

turned it into a little pocket

to hold a card I printed out with

10 Reasons I Love You

on it.

Now, had I planned ahead

(or had Splitcoast informed me a month ago

that they were going tell us how to do THE PERFECT VALENTINE

I would have ordered the CTMH 10 Things cards and used those--

oh well.

Necessity is the mother of invention so goes the saying--

and this worked just fine!

Anyway-

I made my list (quite easily!)

(I am told others have had a hard time-getting stuck at 5...?!

maybe I should have sent Marriage Encounter Weekend

information with them...?! Lol!)

 Then I printed off the info for

the House of Blues Gospel Brunch Breakfast Buffet

I will take him to --hopefully this Sunday.

Years ago we talked about going-and never did.

Since he doesn't eat candy or sweets

I thought a day trip with some good food

and entertainment would be just the ticket!

So---

that's my VALENTINE SECRET!

Hope you have a wonderful day

and get lots and lots of LOVE!

I'm off to make some more chocolate rosebuds for

some coworkers

and sign the cards for the preschool kids.

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,

 

Hershey Heart Roses How-to...

Are you ready for Valentine's Day?

No?!!

UH-OH!!!

Well, let me save your backside then!

Here's a

HOW TO MAKE
HERSHEY HEART ROSEBUD TUTORIAL...

first-gather this stuff up...

Hershey Hearts, Red Cling Wrap, floral wire, floral tape,

double stick tape,wire cutters,scissors,

Art Philosophy Cartridge from CTMH,

(not shown in this shot: scallop punch, doilies,

Mad About You CTMH stamp set, Watermelon ink pad,

acrylic block and pink ribbon...)

Cut the floral wire in half (approx. 9")

Put double stick tape on backside of two hearts

and place floral wire in middle

(note: you want the pointy part of the heart

facing up and away from the "stem")...

After you made your heart sandwich,

because Hershey puts three different colors of hearts

in their bags---who wants silver roses?!

I wrapped my hearts in Red cling wrap-

it also helps hold them together--

(I used the pink colored ones here-but the red wrap

does cover the silver and make them look red!)

just cut a small square, wrap it tightly around

and then I secured the ends with some clear tape.

Then start wrapping with your floral tape

(getting this started is kinda tricky---the scotch tape

holding down the cling wrap is a real plus

when trying to do this part...

that and do cut a piece (give or take 12") floral tape

off the roll-this made wrapping SO MUCH EASIER

than getting it tangled while still attached to the roll...

OH SO GENTLY

add a leaf (I cut mine at 2" using the AP cartridge--

you can also get some cheap artificial flowers

and just use the leaves...)

wrap the stem some and then GENTLY

add in the second leaf...

here's what happens when you try to wrap them too tight...

(insert wordy durds of your own choice!)

CUT EXTRA LEAVES! They will tear-

that stem is thin---

and some will cut wonky

and you'll have the white core showing...

so just cut extra so you can save yourself

the headache later...



I used my scallop punch

(not wanting a repeat of the Cricut and CTMH White Daisy paper

problem)

and then stamped

Happy Valentine's Day

using CTMH Watermelon ink...

These were for a customer order.

One of hubby's coworkers wants them

for her son to give to his teachers.

I used WordPerfect to print "from Trey" on the cardstock

and, because CTMH stamps are CLEAR...

I knew EXACTLY where to stamp!

Gotta love that!

Can't do that in a million years with a wood-block stamp

and get it right all the time!

Next I cut a slit in a small doily

and, for lack of a better word,

"scrunched it" around the stem

just below the leaves.

I secured the "scrunched part"

with a small piece of scotch tape

and covered that with another small piece of

floral tape.

I attached the tags with pink ribbon

tied in a small bow.

Here's all 8 nestled in a box

ready to be delivered to my customer on Monday.

I think

I will be making some more of these tomorrow

for well--

let's keep that a secret for now!

Off to relax some more and read.

The weather here has taken a severe dip in temperature

and I am battling a mega headache since last night.

NOTHING seems to be easing it off...

including trying to ignore it!

One more note before I go---

BOTH Hubby and I

worked in decluttering the attic this morning!

In fact, his willingness to go up and get started

without my asking...

got me motivated

to try and do a little...

which turned into two hours!

We made some great progress-

and we even sorted out paperwork downstairs

later in the day!

He was so pleased to tell me he had

trash bags to go out!

So Flylady is right-it does rub off!

I had two bags of trash, two bags for the thrift store

and sorted out four more sections of attic shelves!

Yesterday I did my "home blessing hour"

so things were straightened up to start the week-end off right

we slept later,

we tackled an "extra" project,

I did some laundry in between

and I spent the afternoon crafting.
Tomorrow

I am going to church,

finishing Valentines and

then going to hear

Pam Stenzel

a Christian speaker

to teens on sexual purity

given my goddaughter

is 12 going on 25...

I think this is a good thing...

for me to hear--for her to hear

should her mom choose to take her with us.

If you have a young person

in your house or life---

please check out her website.

I've heard clips from her speechs for weeks now

and she gets to the heart of the topic

with humor--with facts--

with good sound advice.

Ok.

'Nough!

Off to relax!

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping.

Blessings,

Just one week from today...!

Is Valentine's Day---

and the anniversary of my husband proposing to me!

How romantic!

Speaking of which...

this song just does a number on me--

we love state fairs-

and this is a love song

about falling in love a

at the Roseville Fair

(you also get to watch a great video on

how to make a scalloped rosette!)

Ahh---love that song!

Speaking of love-and Valentine's Day...

I have been working my fingers to a bone

in that new clean craft room...

here's some of what I've created...

These are

"10 Reasons I Love You" easel cards...

that little card comes off/slips off

the sender fills it out and reattaches it

and presto! A super personalized Valentine!

Major points, guys! ; )

You may have seen the Hershey Kiss Roses...

Well...I saw the Hershey HEARTS

and the light bulb went off!

They are bigger-

and sooo much easier

to slip that wire floral stem in between-

wrapped them with red ClingWrap

used Cricut cut leaves (CTMH AP cartridge)

and floral tape.

Added a doily (which I needed to gather better!)

a ribbon and sentiment-

presto! Red EDIBLE roses!

So---I am a CTMH consultant

but after last night

you can bet your bottom dollar-or whatever else

that no matter what

I will NOT sell you our white cardstock

to cut with your Cricut.

It's AWFUL. It's FRUSTRATING.

It's crappy!

I love our papers---

but the white does not cooperate with the Cricut.

So our super neat heart cut out cards---

turned into Cuttlebug embossed-thank God for SU punches

these...

I added a pretty decorated marble to the inside panel

that peeks out the front

stamped a sentiment, added a ribbon

and presto-neat little sweet sentiments.

Hubby takes these creations to his workplace

and, with the blessings of his boss,

places them in the break room for purchase.

It's so very nice to share my talents

and have a little pin money-

hoping these sell well and I can execute the plan I have

for a special Valentine treat for my hubby!

Speaking of which-

he wasn't feeling so hot this week-end

and camped out on the couch

I caught him and the second-in-command head nurse

napping...

Well, time for me to stretch out and relax.

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,